Even today, a grandiose construction project in St. Petersburg can be seen for many kilometers - from almost any end of the city with a suitable point of view. The project, originally planned in the immediate vicinity of the city center, was transferred in 2011 to the northwestern part of St. Petersburg, to the Gulf of Finland, and received the name “Lakhta Center”. The address of the Gazprom building in St. Petersburg is Lakhtinsky Prospekt 2, building 3.
Integration into the urban landscape
It is worth remembering that initially the complex was to be located in the Krasnogvardeisky district, at the mouth of the Okhta, but the stormy public reaction, the position of UNESCO and other factors contributed to the transfer of construction to the bay area. The main stumbling block was the mismatch between the height of the Gazprom building in St. Petersburg and the existing high-altitude regulations, which is why the potential dominant of the city contrasted sharply with the cultural heritage of the 18-19th centuries. In 2008-2009, a number of rallies and other events were held in St. Petersburg aimed at canceling the implementation of the project. The position of the participants was reduced to the fact that the “Lakhta Center” in the case of construction will destroy the appearance of the city.
As a result, it was decided to build a complex in the Primorsky district, away from the historical center. In this area, the height of the Lakhta Center does not bother anyone, as the creators of the project suggest, the location of such a significant complex in an area with a large number of free territories should give impetus to the development of the infrastructure of the Primorsky district.
Objects in the center
The area of the future public and business center, together with the associated buildings, will be more than 400 thousand square meters, a third of which will be office space.
As part of the Lakhta Center in St. Petersburg, cultural and commercial spaces, scientific, educational, medical and congress centers, gyms, a panoramic venue and other facilities are planned.
Considerable attention is paid to the environmental component of the project. Around the skyscraper, spaces are allocated for the green zone, connected by a walking route with the park of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. There are special ways of disposing of rubbish and waste on the territory of the complex, and the entire development area is located on the site of the industrial sand storage, the elimination of which in itself contributes to the improvement of the environment.
Today, the height of the Lakhta Center is more than 340 meters, and the ceiling is still far away. Previously, the tallest building in the city, apart from the TV tower, was the Leader Tower, located near the Moskovskaya metro station. It has a height of just under 150 meters and is already more than twice as inferior to the Gazprom building under construction.
Transport situation
The active construction of the Gazprom building in St. Petersburg has been ongoing for about five years and should be fully completed by the second half of 2018. By this time, all potential problems with transport should be resolved and the necessary infrastructure created.
In the foreseeable future, within walking distance from the complex, the construction of a metro station is planned. Tentatively, it should be launched by 2025. In addition, the possibility of placing an additional railway platform in one of the existing directions, as well as the introduction of additional trains at peak times, is being considered.
A bicycle path will stretch along the Gulf of Finland, and for motorists, in order to avoid transport collapse, they will create new highways.
Efficiency
It is known that buildings with original architecture do not provide one hundred percent of the usable area. In the case of the Gazprom building in St. Petersburg, the spaces that are below the altitude of 400 meters will be used. The spire will remain “uninhabited” and will serve aesthetic purposes, creating the visual integrity of the complex and forming a representation of another symbol of the cultural capital. Recall that the total height of the complex will be 462 meters.
The location of the building away from the historical center has a number of logistical advantages. On the one hand, this is the availability of free spaces for parking and the formation of additional infrastructure elements, on the other hand, the optimization of the transport situation, which would certainly be complicated when the complex was located in the area of the Okhta estuary, where it was originally intended.
Since traditionally the flow of cars along the Primorsky highway is directed in the morning to the city center, and in the evening - back, traffic towards the Lakhta Center will be in antiphase to the main one. This contributes to some unloading of the city center or, in any case, does not exacerbate the traffic problem.
Security
After the events of September 11, 2001 in New York, the question of the reliability and stability of tall buildings in extreme situations arose especially sharply. The Gazprom building in St. Petersburg was designed in such a way that the reinforced concrete core of the building could withstand the load even when all ten pillars of the external contour were destroyed. At the same time, the appearance of the building and the efficiency of using the free space in no way suffer.
During the construction, all factors that somehow affect the safety of the operation of the center were taken into account. The stability of the building on St. Petersburg clay is provided by more than two thousand piles up to 65 meters long, the problem of glaciation of the inclined surface of the upper part of the tower and spire is solved by the establishment of a special heating system, which is extremely important in St. Petersburg. In the Lakhta Center, in case of fire and smoke, special safe zones and elevators are provided for evacuating people from the upper floors. A special waste management system will be used. Thanks to it, carbon dioxide emissions will decrease, and the volume of garbage disposed of will decrease by an order of magnitude relative to traditional recycling methods.
